RSPCA claims cover-up over ship full of sheep

The Federal Government has tried to cover up its mishandling of 57,000 Australian sheep stranded aboard a ship in the Persian Gulf, according to the RSPCA.

Labor said the sheep crammed aboard the MV Cormo Express for the past seven weeks were running out of food - a claim the Government denied. Agriculture Minister Warren Truss warned that unsympathetic reporting of the crisis could scare away potential takers of the sheep, which have been rejected by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. "For commentators, reporters or animal liberationists to paint the situation in any way that is likely to undermine the confidence of potential buyers is not helpful to the welfare of the sheep," he said in a statement.

But RSPCA national president Hugh Wirth said his organisation, would not be gagged. "What they're trying to do is divert attention away from their mismanagement over the last seven weeks," Dr Wirth said.